JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (WAWS) – Roy Snyder was a bundle of nerves. Usually when he hops off the USS Sullivan, he meets his wife and children at the pier. Not this time. He planned to surprise his kids at school.
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“Now they’re going to see me come home. I’m ready,” said 1st Class Petty Officer Snyder.
Snyder was not expected to return home for at least another week. In fact, his 5th, 2nd and kindergartner thought he was still in the Mediterranean Sea.
“So, right now, they don’t know I’m here,” Snyder explained. “They think I have another 10 days and I’m going to go in and FaceTime them and disconnect like I normally do because of wifi being bad. I’m pretty much just walk in on them and surprise them for the first time.”
Teachers and staff at his children’s school were in on the surprise.
Right on cue, the connection went bad and Snyder hung up. But instead of calling back, he walked through the door. He hadn’t seen his children in nearly eight months.
“I don’t know how many times I could have kept hitting end. I just wanted to come out instead of talking,” Snyder said. “His face [his son] was just…I don’t think I could have expected anything more from him. Straight awe.”
Snyder said the hardest part of military life is being away, especially with his kids so young.
